Paper short abstract:

This presentation will look at how the displaced population livelihoods are affected by the peacekeeping operations in DRC. It will reflect on how the dynamics and patterns of inclusion and exclusion emerge in the interaction with the local host population and the peacekeeping operation.

Paper long abstract:

Peacekeeping operations often co-exist with international refugees or internally displaced who also interact with the same host population as the peacekeepers and how this influences the local economy. The displaced population may or may not be affected by the local economy shaped by peacekeeping operations. However, they co-exist within the same space and this research seeks to understand how the displaced populations are affected by the international interventions. One of the peacekeeping missions mandate includes facilitating humanitarian assistance and the return of refugees. The condition of displacement does not consist of one, but a multitude of transformations that can have both a negative and a positive effect on the local economy. A comprehensive understanding of this requires a broad intellectual reflection of how the dynamics and patterns of inclusion and exclusion emerge and how the displaced population's livelihood strategies are affected by the peacekeeping operation and humanitarian interventions.

Next to Sudan, MONUSCO in DR Congo is the largest peacekeeping operation in the world today and they have been faced with a number of challenges after the increased violence in late 2012 in Easter Congo. This has also caused a large influx of displacement and harsh living conditions for thousands of people in the region. What type of positive or negative influence do the peacekeeping operations have on the livelihoods of the displaced population and what kind of intended and/or unintended consequences does this have for the local, internally displaced population?